Laying some basic groundwork prior to the publication of your book will provide the foundation needed to support a successful launch. I’m very excited about a recently completed project of pre-publication activities for THRESHOLDS, the first published novel by Adrianne Marie Hall (yes, the title is in ALL CAPS). Although I’ve written many business plans, marketing plans, grants and other business documents, this was my first time creating the marketing plan for a book launch.

This has been one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve worked on in a long time. The book went live on Amazon.com on 1/13/13 … but what’s my point? The following items are among those already“checked off” on the list of action items to prepare for the day that the book would finally be available for sale. Having this basic marketing platform in place will make it easier to establish and maintain momentum to create more visibility and awareness of the book and the author.

We used the theme and color palette on the book cover to create all of the marketing tools and materials. We selected a basic set of tools that includes a website, a Facebook business cards, glossy cardboard bookmarks, postcards,* a pamphlet,* a poster of the book cover and a table top vertical poster to use as displays to draw attention at book signings. We also incorporated the author’s line of handcrafted bookmarks to cross-promote her book to her existing customer base, as well as to introduce those with interest in THRESHOLDS to her other literary-related talents.

Within the next 48 hours, the press kit for the book will be completed – just in time for the anticipated arrival of the first shipment of books to send to individuals who write and publish book reviews. Several press releases are being drafted to target our growing list of traditional and online newspapers and periodicals.

The author lives in San Gabriel Valley - a press release will tout the “hometown” author angle; she is African American – this one will be tailored to distribute to local, regional and national media outlets that target this population; she has a home-based business with the tagline, “A Bookmark so Unique it has to be called BookJewelry,”™ which presents another opportunity to announce her new status as an author to her colleagues and vendors in the arts & crafts sector; and the list goes on to include the newspaper at the college she attended, etc.

There is a lot more to do, but for now it feels great to know that we have the basic framework is in place. Within 15 minutes of receiving an e-mail from the publisher (Glover Lane Press) that the paperback was available on Amazon.com, I had updated the website and posted an announcement on Facebook. The author received a check in the mail today, marking the first sale of her book … stemming from an invitation to a select group of her friends to “beta test” the website about three weeks ago. I look forward to sharing more about this “hands-on,” “real time” project with Authors on Tour USA. Visit the site at www.ThresholdsTheNovel.com and communicate your thoughts, critiques, etc. to me directly via my e-mail(laqshamblee@gmail.com). Please DO NOT send critiques about the website to the author.